Blazing Sun
by Unwaveringhope
Summary: Leah's story. Begins in book 2 Breaking Dawn. I'll get a real summary... eventually - sorry for the bad one, I'm not far along enough yet!
1. Forsaken

I unwillingly lumbered after the boys into her house. I felt the strong impulse to turn around and head anywhere but here, but Seth had told me Sam had called some urgent meeting - whatever that means - and it was mandatory the whole pack be there.

"Hi, Leah" Emily greeted me in an overly cheery voice - it made me want to puke.

"Hey." I said back. I searched eagerly for a place to sit, maybe zone out of the conversation, but the boys hadn't thought to be polite for once and leave a chair for the woman - if that's what I was. I stopped that thought immediately. There was no use in getting anymore fury boiled up before the meeting even began.

I walked back to the wall opposite the kitchen, railed with bars across the stairs. I rested my head in the middle of two, closed my eyes, and attempted to clear my mind of all thought. I had almost succeeded when I heard someone's voice pierce through the normal, bubbly, annoying chatter. My heart ached as it raced faster, and I opened my eyelids as he began to speak. I listened half-heartedly at first, but then as the conversation unfolded, I grew intrigued, or close enough to it.

"-talked to her, said she sounded bad. She told him she's sick. Carlisle got on and told Charlie that Bella picked up some rare disease in South America - said she's quarantined. Charlie's going crazy, 'cause even he's not allowed to see her. He says he doesn't care if he gets sick, but Carlisle wouldn't bend. No visitors. Told Charlie it was pretty serious, but that he's doing everything he can. Charlie's been stewing about it for days, but he only told Billy now. He said she sounded worse today."

We were all silent as we absorbed the information. My gaze flickered around the room, and my eyes found Emily, leaning against Sam's wicker chair. She looked unsettled, worried. Well that's great for her, I thought, she's taken a liking to the leech-lover, and now her old friend is good as dead. I momentarily felt regret that we weren't meeting in the forest in our wolf forms - where Jacob could hear. I really got on his nerves sometimes. It was real fun, and it got my anger out better than if I exploded on someone - not that I didn't feel like doing that half the time.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jacob asked impatiently. I could see his body inclined towards the door - prepared to phase in a moment's notice. I had to agree with him there, but maybe my anger was just getting the best of me. I kept my mouth shut regardless, I couldn't side with Jacob anyway, and I also didn't need to side against Sam. That would be a great way to feel better on an already awful day. Usually, I'm actually in an alright mood on mornings - the ones I'm off patrol and get to sleep, at least - but no one is around to notice. This morning, though, I was woken up by Seth, telling me Charlie was coming over - asking me if I wanted to go to Billy's with him. Obviously, I said no, but I said it nicely. I always put in effort act good with Seth. He was, after all, my little brother. So, anyways, I decided to go for a walk on the beach. I waded in the tide, staring off into the bright yellows and oranges of the sunrise. It was one of those rare days of sunshine. I always made sure that I had time to see either the sunrise or set whenever I could. It was peaceful, serene. I was awed by the colors. I settled down on a flat rock, burying my toes in the warm, gritty sand, and focused on relaxing my entire body.

Not even halfway through my process, though, a long howl cut through the frigid morning air. I recognized the voice as my brother. What now? I wondered, irritated at his lousy timing, but I quickly went through my necessities, and rushing through the woods, after I secured my belongings around my ankle, phased in the air. As my feet touched the ground I repeated my question out loud. "What now?" I asked, the irritation lessening in my mind, but steadily growing as Seth explained.

"Sam called an emergency meeting. He asked me to call you guys - and girl," he tacked on, his voice light with teasing. I mentally rolled my eyes at him. He was a good kid, it was hard to get mad at him.

"And?" I prompted. I was getting impatient. I wanted to know if this was a waste of my precious time or not.

"I'll explain when everyone's here. Sam's calling me in, you close?"

"Ya, I'm almost there." I spoke fast, before I phased back. I had heard the others phasing in, and frankly I could do without their petty, blabbering voices stuck inside my head. They drove me insane - as if being a teenage lone-girl wolf wasn't enough to turn someone mental.

I pulled on my denim cut-offs and simple navy blue tank top. I fastened the first button, but gave up with the second - not like anyone would be staring at me. I remembered Emily's fake happy greeting, and stopped before her stupid little perfect voice invaded my head like a disease. I tuned back into the now argument between Jacob and Sam.

"-afraid to die."

"I know that Jacob," Sam stated in his sickeningly authorial voice, "It's one reason I question your judgment on this."

Jacob stared furiously at Sam, "Do you intend t honor our father's treaty or not?" He asked, the anger clear in his deep voice. I kept my eyes on him, careful not to sway in Sam's direction.

"I honor my pack. I do what's best for them." I caught myself before muttering aloud my thoughts. I turned my head to the door, mouthing my words to the air. Load of crap. Sam seemed to sense my disagreement, and I felt his eyes flicker towards me, but he turned back to Jacob, not bothering to care enough to find out what had bothered me - probably addressing it as my normal behavior: stupid Leah, immature Leah, she can't manage her anger, can't accept that things change. She's arrogant and stupid. Why can't she see that we don't need her here. I'd overheard him say those words to Paul a week after I'd joined the pack. They had been talking on the beach, not even noticing I was some twenty feet away from them with my newfound super hearing. I had phased then, but it had been night at the time, so we were safe from human eyes. I had had enough sense not to charge them, rip their throats out. Instead I had fled into the woods, and phased back as soon as possible in case they phased to find me.

Once more, my eyes adjusted to the blur after reliving my memories. This one left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I would not allow myself to dwell on it, and I quickly immerse myself in the ongoing bickering between the two.

"Shut up, Seth!" three of the boys said in harmony. I didn't heed to look back to discover who had yelled, but after the seconds ticked by I stared at my brother, his jaw now set firmly and staring at the ground. Well he set himself up for it, I thought, smiling to myself.

"We don't want you to leave." Sam said softly. I glanced up at his change in voice. His eyes were sincere enough, but I guessed at a hidden thought creeping in his mind. As much as Jacob was a bother with his obsession over the leech lover, Sam knew we needed him, as a friend or a fighter, I couldn't be sure, but when I moved my gaze to fix it on Jacob, I saw plain on his face he wasn't buying it.

"So force me to stay, Sam. Take away my will. Make me a slave," Jacob taunted, exasperated.

"You know I won't do that."

"Then there's nothing to say." Jacob retorted, hastily pulling himself out of the wicker chair, and if the door had not been opened, I had no doubt he would have torn it to bits to get out of this place. Too bad, I thought.

"I'm out." I said dryly, keeping my eyes on Jacob's form disappearing into the woods. If I could follow . . . but I ran back to the beach, uncaring if people stared, and with relief saw that had just enough time to see the sun until the looming clouds poured over.

As the first drops fell, I sensed someone watching, but for the moment, I couldn't force myself to care, and I did something I hadn't done since I was a little girl.

I gave up all my anger – if only for an insignificant moment or two – and I let myself go, and I danced my heart out in the crystal rain.


	2. Running Wild

The rain led up after two hours, and I was tired out and most likely looked – and smelled – like a drenched dog. As I trekked across the beach to my house, I remembered my earlier feeling of being watched, and decided to search the forest.

My bare feet were torn and scratched by the debris of branches, thorns, and what-not on the forest floor, but I felt the wounds healing before they really started to sting. I searched every inch of the woods with my inhumanly accurate eyes, but I saw no sign of any life besides the forest creatures bounding and leaping at will.

Suddenly I heard a branch snap behind me, and I twirled around to face the source. I saw Jacob following me. What the hell, my mind asked. I debated whether to state my question aloud.

"What the hell, Jacob?" I said. I sounded more curious that angry, and I was upset that I had missed a chance for a good quarrel with him. I stared at him, and saw him staring back at me. His expression was masked, which made me even more curious. After waiting for his answer for minutes, the curiosity rapidly morphed into impatience and aggravation.

"Are you there? Hellooo, I asked a question."

"What's your question, then?" Jacob answered. I could hear the edginess in his tone. He wanted to be excused from this little talk as soon as possible. His edginess only fed my aggravation, and my words came out sharper than usual.

"Why the hell are you following me around?" I scoffed, looking straight at him, and pronouncing the words slowing and carefully, wondering if he really was intellectually challenged.

"I seem to recall that I was here first, and you were the one following _me._" Jacob retorted. I saw fury in his eyes, and the edginess building. What was he so eager for, though?

"What's wrong with you?" I asked, masking my curiosity with dripping sarcasm.

"Couldn't you think of something nice to say for once? God, Leah." Jacob said, flinging his words like jagged knives. He never realizes how they cut me down, increase my temper against him. I noticed that his irate accusations avoided the question. I stared at him, feeling my hands tremble with backlash towards his harsh words. "Done with your twenty questions, yet?"

"I think I've only asked four, but it's not like I've gotten one even slightly coherent answer." I replied, fuming. I began to back away into the woods, and once he started his own way, I spun myself around, running with lightning speed back towards the house.

Once I was inside, Seth greeted me from his place on the sofa. He was watching some boring pre-game show. I wondered idly how guys got so racked up in watching random people sweat for hours at a time.

"Hey, Leah! Where you been? You took off so fast."

"Nowhere, Seth," I lied evenly, but I could see he was waiting patiently for a real answer, so I tacked on – "I just took a roundabout way home. That fine with you?" I asked derisively. Seth averted his eyes back to the TV, pretending to be interested in an interview with some coach from Minnesota – or maybe he was really interested, who knows, at least he had enough sense not to spring back with some wise guy comment to spur more any more annoyance on my part.

I stomped along the short, light, baby blue hallway, keeping my eyes down on the wooden grains on the planks of the floor, so as not to see the dark wooden frames and the pictures they contained. Just thinking of my dad brought back the wave of depression I'd felt standing in the hospital, nerve-wracked and anxious, waiting for the nurses to tell us something – anything – about his condition. They wouldn't utter a word, and after a half hour, the doctor came out to speak with us. I recognized him easily – the Cullens were stand-outs compared to anyone I'd even known. I was uneasy at his presence – I'd never liked the Cullens. He seemed to notice my discomfort, and the whole family's for that reason, but he was still freakishly calm. His absurd cool and collected only made me more fretful. He told us to go home, and that they would call with the news.

After only a fifteen minute wait, we heard the shrill ring of the phone in the dead silence of the living room. My mother gradually walked up to the phone, and with shaking hands picked up the receiver from its stand on the wall. She worriedly twisted the phone cord around her finger as she spoke to them. Abruptly, she burst into tears, still on the line with the hospital.

All I felt was hate, boiling hate. Hate that God could have let this happen, could have left my mother alone, left Seth and I without our father. What soulless being would do this, I thought. I was hyper-aware of my body quivering uncontrollably. A small part of my mind was taken aback - what was happening, it asked hysterically – but overall I felt the hate growing, spreading throughout my body, and I felt my form change before my eyes, and I heard a menacing growl rip from my throat . . .

My memory was locked away as I slammed my bedroom door and flung myself onto my bed. I buried my face in the familiar navy blue and sea green pattern of my comforter. I lay like that for who knows how long, sorting through my thoughts. One query always found a way to climb back to center stage in my mind, what was Jacob doing? I found myself looking back and retracing.

One, I told myself, he wasn't mad until Sam mentioned that they weren't attacking. The thought sent a spark to my brain.

Two, he ran out when he knew there was no use in trying to persuade them.

Three, he had followed me, though. I might have followed him out, but I ran straight to the beach to watch my sunrise. Why was he in the forest, then, I speculated. He had run off in the direction of Billy's. He must have stopped their, and then gone to the forest. There was no doubt that he was fast enough to pull it off, but why, was what I couldn't see.

Then it hit me, and I scolded myself for not seeing it earlier.

I unhinged my window, quickly leaping out, and easily landed on two feet. I sprinted towards the North East, sticking to the trees so as not to be discovered. All the way I chanted, please don't let me be too late, please don't let me be too late.


	3. Faltering

My feet pounded heavily across the soggy ground of the forest floor. I hadn't phased yet, knowing that if Jacob _was_ in wolf form, he would act faster, and plus I knew him well enough – what with being inside his head 24/7 – that I felt sure that he wouldn't be. Jacob knew Sam was probably out on patrol now. Maybe Seth realized I was gone, and he's out on patrol as well.

I almost smacked into a tree, not paying enough attention to my path as my thoughts, but I lithely glided out of its way. I was surprised with my agility – though I had never been clumsy or awkward, I had never really been graceful in any way, and I have always had acquired more sharp qualities.

Up ahead I was beginning to see a glimpse of the highway turn off into the deep, winding road, lined with endless ferns. I was on top of the pavement in seconds, still sprinting. I was panting hard, and my heart threatened to give out. I could hear the forceful ripping whirr of the Harley Sprint motorcycle, and with every step the odor of the parasites grew stronger. I gagged as the stench hit my nose full on. Thankfully, I hadn't eaten yet today.

I saw Jacob ahead of me, climbing off his bike. I never paused, except to gauge my spring as I side tackled him, bringing him down underneath me. We landed with a clear thump off the roadside in a mass of ferns, out of sight of the looming vulgar house.

I heard the breath knocked out of his lungs as I fell atop of him, my elbows digging into his chest. A string of profanities proceeded from his mouth. I calmly waited until he was through.

"GET THE HELL OFF OF ME," he sputtered furiously, but still in a pained whisper with my elbows still digging into his lungs, limiting his air. I made a slow production of picking myself up off the forest floor, and brushing off the scattered pine needles, dirt, and rotting leaves off my body. When I finished, I tilted my head down towards his direction and smirked widely.

"Need a hand?" I offered, still mocking him with my high spirits at his discomfort.

"I'd rather not," he scoffed, glaring up at me, and jumping up with a surge of energy. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I was saving your suicidal ass from getting massacred. And by the way, you're welcome."

"Have you ever thought that maybe I didn't want to be saved? Did you even think? God, Leah, you screw up everything." Though he didn't know it, he had made his mark. Another scar added to the millions stacked that would never heal.

"Ya, thanks Jacob. Thanks a lot. So if you're so intent on dying, maybe I could kill you myself, and save all the fun for me. You wouldn't want to give those foul parasites any pleasure, would you?" I reproached, backing away unconsciously, ready to leave the scene if it pummeled down into a more agonizing trouble for me to handle.

"Wow, Leah, you just crack me up. Why don't you stay here so you can thrill me with your hilarity?" The sarcasm was swelled thick in his voice. An expression of severe ridicule crossed his face. I was forming a really fine comeback, when I abruptly I started to choke at the sudden burst of a sickening odor full on in my face. I sucked in a last breath, and held it as I twirled around to face the source.

"Excuse me. May I ask what your place is here?" Carlisle asked in a calm, collected voice. He gazed expectantly at Jacob and me, analyzing the situation with his shrewd eyes. I made a snap decision to answer instead of Jacob. Who knows what would have come out of his mouth. I struggled to keep my tone polite, despite the boiling anger inside of me and the ever-present urge to retch or attack when I was around leeches.

"Jacob came to check up on Bella," I stated, and quickly tacked on my personal explanation, "and I followed him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid he would regret later." I finished, staring into Jacob's face, explaining myself to both of them.

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you, but Bella isn't in any condition to have visitors at the present time. Please keep it down if you must quarrel. She needs rest, and in any state she doesn't need to be dealing with any further stress."

"I need to see her," Jacob protested, the ache of profound yearning clear in his voice, now.

"Very well then," Carlisle replied, unwillingly. God, I wonder what's wrong with her, I thought, but after a second, I realized I shouldn't care. I occupied myself with observing the tall, moss green ferns as Jacob and Carlisle steadily approached the house.

"Hey, Jacob!" I called, "I'll be in the woods, scouting for Sam." I mentally winced as I heard his name aloud.

"Sure, sure, but if he comes howl. Don't do anything too _stupid," _he teased, but I could tell the grin was false on his face. Trying to put on a cheery mood to prepare for what was inside, afraid that it could hurt him more, would hurt him more. I hated that the leech-lover did that to him. Who was she to wound him like this? I wanted to march inside that miserable house and give her a piece of my mind, but a weak voice in my head told me now was not the time. Maybe later, I amended, and I spun on my heels, putting my back to Carlisle and Jacob. I jogged lightly to the edge of the forest, ducking under the teeming array of green life.

Once I was sure I was out of sight, I undressed, leaving my clothes under a wide, old Redwood tree. In a thrilling rush, I transformed. I made a quick plan, and began to run a wide arc around the territory, letting all human instincts pour out behind me as I ran from them in fear – for fear of myself, and what I let myself become.


	4. Worries

I ran a quick loop around the house, and then seeing no sign of any presence besides the parasites, decided to make a wider arc around the full perimeter. About half way through, I thought I heard something in the forest, a way off from where I stood in the dim light – well, dim to humans, at least – listening.

I decided to continue my route, when I heard a distinct sound – the pad of large paws hitting the uneven forest floor in a constant rhythm. I remembered Jacob's words as he slipped into the house with the head parasite, "... if he comes howl. Don't do anything too _stupid."_ Should I let him know? No, no, I could handle myself.

As I was debating back and forth, I hadn't noticed the pace of the approach was quite fast, and now, was standing before me.

"_Leah?" _he asked in disbelief. I couldn't blame him. The last thing on my list of things to do today was being hired on patrol for the bloodsuckers.

"Congratulations, Seth. You actually remembered your sister!" I rolled my eyes. Then I got to wondering, why was Seth here, though? I voiced the question aloud.

"I couldn't attack the Cullens – its not right. I took off as soon as I was off patrol."

"Seth, do they know you're here?" I avoided his name purposefully.

"Nah, I went home first before I snuck out." He stated carefree, all that mattered to him was that he wouldn't be against his precious vampires.

"Did," I sighed, "did Sam decide anything different? Are they still attacking?" I scanned the trees for any threats. Finding none, I forced my attention back to Seth's answer.

" . . . was thinking 'bout it while we were out. I don't think he'll come here, now that the three of us are here. He thought he'll wait a while. He wanted to speak with Jake, first, too."

I let that sink in for a moment. "I'll go get Jacob filled in." I replied. "Hey, can you finish my patrol? I was just running the perimeter before I heard you running."

"Ya, sure," he said enthusiastically.

"Thanks." I replied half-heartedly, thinking of entering into the parasites' home. I changed into my human form, picking up my clothes from underneath a fern, taller than the others around it.

Walking up to the door, I saw it was left cracked open. With a shrug, I stepped in. My eyes roamed around the room as I searched for Jake. I saw the small pixie-like female at the end of the elaborate staircase, rubbing her temples with an irritated and indignant expression.

"He's upstairs with Bella - first door to the left," she spoke, knowing already my future, of course. Stupid gifted bloodsuckers, though I was a bit glad I didn't have to wander around in this reeking mansion.

I gave a weak smile as I took the stairs three at a time. I stood in the door frame of some makeshift hospital, but the main thing I saw, was the infuriated, grieving eyes of Jacob, staring down at Bella.

"Jacob," I called, breaking him from his stare. "Can we talk?" As I spoke, five pairs of curious black eyes analyzed my stance in the hallway, never stepping inside the room.

"Sure, sure." He seemed pleased to have an excuse to leave the room. "What is it?" he inquired as we made our way down the steps. I didn't reply until we were safely outside the house in the cover and protection of the fountain of leafy green. I didn't feel to kindly towards the psychic bloodsucker listening in on our conversation.

"Seth's out running the perimeter right now. He came here as soon as he was through with his patrol - he might as well be doing something useful. He thinks that the pack will wait to attack, and he mentioned that," once more I sighed, having to say his name, "Sam wants to talk to you. I don't know how he plans to do that."

"That all I missed? Do you think I should meet with him?" he asked, scratching his neck.

"Uh," I was caught off guard; he was asking me for advice, I thought – since when?, " I dunno. What's with Bella in that hospital bed?" I saw him wince as I brought up the topic.

"Let's catch up with Seth, see what he thinks?" I could see he was avoiding the question, but instead I saw Seth, in human form, bounding towards us.

"What I think about what?" he questioned, standing next to me, now, his permanent smile plastered to his face.

A shrill scream broke through the heavy air. Jacob tensed in response.

"I'll explain later. Why don't you too run one more loop around - closer to the edge of our territory."

I watched with worried and empathizing eyes, as Jake sprinted up the porch steps and through the door into the parasite's house to the reason he was caught in this mess in the first place.


End file.
